FERAL – Ziguenertanz – CELLO AND PIANO

Other Identification:
WILHELM JERAL (1861 – 1935) was an Austrian cellist of Czech origin (born in Prague). During the years 1873 to 1879 he studied at the Prague Conservatory with František Gegenbart. In 1880 he became principal cello of the Graz Opera Orchestra and a professor at the “Styrian Musical Society”. In1887 he moved to Rotterdam where he was principal cello at the Deutsche Oper in Rotterdam, where he also worked as an opera conductor. In 1896 he relocated to Vienna, preferring for some time to work chiefly as a cello soloist. Three years later he was apponted principal cello of the orchestra of the Vienna Opera at the court of Vienna, and from 1901 he was the cellist in Karl Prill ‘s string quartet. It is said that in 1904 Gustav Mahler considered Jeral one of the chief candidates for a soloist position in the Vienna Philharmonic.
After World War I, he carried out teaching tasks in Vienna (among his students Konstantin Popov) and spent time editing music. Under Jéral’s direction, compositions for cello by Richard Strauss, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and others were published. Jéral preserved the only copy of the Polonaise for cello and piano by Antonín Dvořák, which he received in 1879 from the premiere performer Alois Neruda and first published in 1925.
As a composer he wrote a concerto for cello and orchestra in 1899 which was published in 1906. He also wrote many shorter pieces, of which perhaps the most famous piece is “Gypsy Dance” (Zigeunertanz), Op.6 No.2, written in 1904. This piece bears the dedication “Herrn. Prof. Hugo Becker freundschaftlichst gewidmet” {Kindly dedicated to Prof. Hugo Becker}. This piece would make for a welcome discovery for present day virtuoso cellists instead of the more usual Sarasate – Zigeunerweisen or the Monti – Czardas, for this piece perhaps displays even more originality and ‘cellistic’ devices.
As a cellist himself the composer knows perfectly how to write for the cello, employing spiccato passages, harmonics, plenty of double-stoppings especially in the higher registers, pizzicatos etc.